Vehicle turn signaling apparatus that projects a low divergence line onto an adjacent driving lane

ABSTRACT

A vehicle turn signaling apparatus includes a light source that is powered by a turn signal circuit of the vehicle. The light source is configured to project a low divergence visible line onto a driving lane adjacent to the vehicle in response to activation of the turn signal circuit to visibly warn other drivers where a driver of the vehicle may intend to move the vehicle.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to vehicle lighting, and more particularly toapparatuses for signaling vehicle turns.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The development of vehicle turn signals made driving significantlysafer. National governments responded by mandating that all roadvehicles include standardized turn signal lighting on the front and rearvehicle surfaces. However, turn signals are not always effective atwarning other drivers.

The high occurrence of essentially identical signaling has resulted inmany drivers becoming essential blind thereto. The location of the turnsignals on a vehicle body is also signaling occurring in the peripheralvision of drivers in adjacent lanes, and the signaling may be visuallyblocked by front and side window pillars that support the vehicle roofstructure. Moreover, when turn signals are observed by other drivers,they sometimes do not trigger a conscious reaction in some drivingsituations. Some manufacturers have attempted to address somelimitations of existing turn signaling lighting by adding turn signallighting to side view mirrors. However, such additional lighting stilldoesn't adequately address these and other limitations of existing turnsignal lighting.

Consequently, there continues to be a tremendous need for furtherinnovation in vehicle turn signal lighting that can address at leastsome of these known limitations while providing an aestheticallypleasing feature that will be sought by consumers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As explained above, the effectiveness of conventional turn signallighting is limited by its appearance in the peripheral vision ofdrivers in adjacent roadway lanes and commonality. Various embodimentsof the present invention may overcome these and other limitations byconfiguring a vehicle so that turn signal lighting is projected onto anadjacent lane to the vehicle. The visual effectiveness and aesthetics ofthe turn signal lighting is dramatically enhanced by using one or morelight sources that are configured to project a low divergence visibleline that provides a well defined attention grabbing pattern on anadjacent lane

Some embodiments of the present invention provide a vehicle turnsignaling apparatus that includes a light source that is powered by aturn signal circuit of the vehicle. The light source is configured toproject a low divergence visible line onto an adjacent driving lane tothe vehicle in response to activation of the turn signal circuit tovisibly warn other drivers where a driver of the vehicle can intend tomove the vehicle.

Apparatuses according to other embodiments of the invention will be orbecome apparent to one of skill in the art upon review of the followingdrawings and Detailed Description. It is intended that all suchadditional apparatus be included within this description, be within thescope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate certain embodiments of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a vehicle that includes a turn signal circuitthat is configured in accordance with some embodiments of the presentinvention to project a low divergence visible line onto an adjacentdriving lane to visibly warn other drivers where the driver may changelanes;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a vehicle that includes a turn signal circuitthat is configured in accordance with some other embodiments of thepresent invention to project more complex low divergence visible linesand/or symbols onto an adjacent driving line to visibly warn otherdrivers where the driver may change lanes;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a vehicle that includes a turn signal circuitthat is configured in accordance with some other embodiments of thepresent invention to project patterns of low divergence visible linesthat may be controlled to dynamically sweep along the adjacent drivinglane to visibly warn other drivers where the driver may change lanes;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a vehicle that includes a turn signal circuitthat is configured in accordance with some other embodiments of thepresent invention to project patterns of low divergence visible linesthat may be controlled to dynamically sweep across the adjacent drivinglane to visibly warn other drivers where the driver may change lanes;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are top views of a vehicle that includes a plurality oflight sources that are spaced part along each side of the vehicle toproject patterns of low divergence visible lines in accordance with someother embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are top views of a vehicle that includes a plurality oflight sources that are spaced part along each side of the vehicle toproject other patterns of low divergence visible lines in accordancewith some other embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a vehicle turn signaling apparatus that maybe configured to project a plurality of low divergence visible linesonto an adjacent driving lane, such as the projected line patterns ofone or more of FIGS. 1-8, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of another vehicle turn signaling apparatusthat may be configured to project a plurality of low divergence visiblelines onto an adjacent driving lane, such as the projected line patternsof one or more of FIGS. 1-8, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of another vehicle turn signaling apparatusthat may be configured to project a continuously scanned low divergencevisible line or a plurality of discrete low divergence visible linesonto an adjacent driving lane, such as the projected line patterns ofone or more of FIGS. 1-8, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of another vehicle turn signaling apparatusthat may be configured to project a continuously scanned low divergencevisible line or a plurality of discrete low divergence visible linesonto an adjacent driving lane, such as the projected line patterns ofone or more of FIGS. 1-8, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention now will be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichembodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another. For example, a first element could be termed asecond element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a firstelement, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Asused herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of oneor more of the associated listed items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”“comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specifythe presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms used herein should be interpreted ashaving a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context ofthis specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted inan idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyconnected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are nointervening elements present.

As explained above, the effectiveness of conventional turn signallighting is limited by its appearance in the peripheral vision ofdrivers in adjacent roadway lanes and commonality. Various embodimentsof the present invention may overcome these and other limitations byconfiguring a vehicle so that turn signal lighting is projected onto anadjacent lane to the vehicle. The visual effectiveness and aesthetics ofthe turn signal lighting is dramatically enhanced by using one or morelight sources that are configured to project a low divergence visibleline that provides a well defined attention grabbing pattern on anadjacent lane.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, a vehicle turn signaling apparatusincludes a light source that is powered by a turn signal circuit of thevehicle. The light source is configured to project a low divergencevisible line onto a driving lane that is adjacent to the vehicle inresponse to activation of the turn signal circuit so as to visibly warnother drivers where a driver of the vehicle is intending to move thevehicle.

As used herein, the term “line” includes linear and non-linearcontinuous and segmented (i.e., dashed) areas on a road surface that aredefined by illumination from a light source. Although various lines havebeen illustrated in FIGS. 1-8 as being solid (continuous) for ease ofillustration, one or more of them may instead be segmented (i.e.,dashed). Various turn signaling circuitry (e.g., the various circuitembodiments described herein) may be configured to generate the lines sothat they may be flashed on and off to increase their attention grabbingcapability and/or aesthetics of the lines projected onto the adjacentroadway lane.

When the lines are segmented/dashed, individual segments along a linemay be sequentially illuminated to extend the line from a definedstarting point to a spaced apart ending point over a time period that isselected to increase the likelihood that the signaling is noticed by anadjacent driver and/or to further increase the aesthetics of thesignaling (e.g., a time period of between 0.1 sec to 1 sec). The rate offlashing of individual entire lines and/or line segments projected ontoan adjacent lane may be selected to be faster (e.g., at least 1.5 timesfaster) than the flashing rate of other turn signal lighting on thevehicle to increase the likelihood that the signaling is noticed by anadjacent driver (who may have become less observant of slow flashingconventional turn signaling lighting) and/or to further increase theaesthetics of the signaling.

In some embodiments, as segments along the line are illuminated, theturn signaling circuitry (e.g., various embodiments described herein)may be configured to maintain those segments illuminated until allsegments along the line are illuminated and after which all of thosesegments are then turned off before the process is repeated, or viceversa all segments along a line may cycle on and then be sequentiallycycled off until all segments are turned off before the process isrepeated. Illuminating more segments can increase the observability ofthe projected lines during daylight hours. In some other embodiments, analternating pattern of illuminated and non-illuminated segments of aline may sequentially move across a line to visually create an illusionthat the pattern is moving toward/away the vehicle and/or in thedirection of travel/opposite to the direction of travel of the vehicle.In some other embodiments, the line segments may be logically groupedinto two or more groups, and the turn signaling circuitry may beconfigured to cycle through illuminating/non-illuminating differentsequential groups of line segments while the other groups of linesegments remain non-illuminated/illuminated.

The flashing rate of entire lines and/or line segments may be decreasedduring daylight hours and increased during nighttime house, and/or thenumber of line segments that are simultaneously illuminated may beincreased during daylight hours and decreased during nighttime hours tocontrol the luminosity of the projected signaling and, thereby, theobservability of the projected lighting dependent upon the sensed orexpected ambient lighting. Thus, in some embodiments, the turn signalingcircuitry may include an ambient light sensor that is configured tosense the ambient lighting and/or a time of day clock the is used topredict the expected ambient lighting, where the output of the sensorand/or clock is used by the circuitry (e.g., a sequencer circuit orother circuit) to regulate the flashing rate and/or number of segmentsalong a line that are simultaneously illuminated.

The term “low divergence” refers to the beam divergence of light that isprojected from the light source and, relatedly, the change in thicknessof the line that is projected onto the adjacent roadway lane withdistance from the light source. In some embodiments the light sourceincludes a laser device that generates a coherent wavelength beam thatcan be focused (such as by a single lens) to project a relativelyconstant width line at a typical distance from the light source on avehicle in one lane to a distant point in an adjacent driving lane. Anexample distance may, for example, be about 15 feet for a 12 footdriving lane when the light source is located an additional 3 feet awayin an adjacent lane.

In some other embodiments, the light source includes a light emittingdiode that outputs a majority of its light within a relatively narrowfrequency range that can be sufficiently focused using one or morelenses to project at least a majority of its light output power(intensity) within a low divergent pathway that forms a low divergentwidth line at the typical distance from the light source on a vehicle inone lane to a distant point in an adjacent driving lane.

For example, in some exemplary embodiments, a low divergence line may beprojected by a laser light source and/or a light emitting diode lightsource by focusing a majority of its light output power from the narrowbeam width exiting the light source (e.g., less than about 0.5 inches,or more preferable less than about 3/16th inches, or even morepreferable less than about 1/16th inches) into a line that increases inwidth less than about a six inches as it extends across at least amajority of the roadway driving lane (e.g., a 12 foot width lane) thatis adjacent to the vehicle in which the light source is embodied.Because the illuminated portion of the adjacent lane may also beilluminated by the Sun, street lighting, and/or the headlights ofanother vehicle that is following in the same lane or in the adjacentlane to the vehicle, it can be important to increase the intensity ofthe line that is projected onto the adjacent lane by focusing at a leasta majority of the light output power of the light source into a muchmore narrowly divergent line. Through testing it has been determinedthat projecting the light beam into a line that increases in width lessthan about 1 inch from the beam at the light source to at a point abouthalfway across an adjacent roadway lane (e.g., 6 feet for a 12 footwidth lane) may enable the light beam to viewable by another nearbydriver while that part of the lane is also illuminated by a more distantheadlight on a trailing vehicle. Moreover, through further testing ithas been it has been determined that projecting the light beam into aline that increases in width less than about ¼ inch from the beam at thelight source to a point about halfway across an adjacent roadway lanemay enable the light beam to viewable by another nearby driver while thelane is also illuminated by a rising/setting Sun. Moreover, throughfurther testing it has been determined that projecting the light beaminto a line that increases in width less than about ⅛ inch from the beamat the light source to a point about halfway across an adjacent roadwaylane may enable the light beam to be viewable by another nearby driverwhile the lane is also illuminated by the Sun shining through moderatecloud cover. It will be appreciated that a higher intensity light sourcewill increase the viewability of the projected line by another nearbydriver and can enable the line that is projected onto an adjacentroadway to be viewable by an adjacent driver during fully sunshine.

As will be explained below, a plurality of vehicle turn signalingapparatuses may be connected to a vehicle to project a plurality oflines that may form a static or dynamically changing pattern onto adriving lane that is adjacent to the vehicle. It is to be understoodthat the invention is not limited to these exemplary embodiments, but,instead, covers all configurations within the claims appended hereto andall equivalents thereto.

FIG. 1 is a top view of two automotive vehicles 100 and 150 that arelocated in adjacent driving roadway lanes. The invention is not limitedto use in automobiles, because it may be incorporated into motorcyclesand other types of vehicles to provide improved vehicle turn signaling.The vehicle 100 includes four light sources 110 a-d that are located atdifferent corner regions of the vehicle 100. For example, light sources110 b and 100 d may be connected to opposite sides of a front bumper ofthe vehicle 100 and light sources 100 a and 100 c may be connected toopposite sides of a rear bumper of the vehicle 100. FIG. 1 furtherillustrates a pair of low divergence visible lines 120 a and 120 b thatare projected by the light sources 110 a and 100 b onto the adjacentdriving lane in response to a driver activating a turn signal circuit towarn another driver of vehicle 150 of the driver's intention to changelanes in that direction. The other light sources 110 c and 110 d cansimilarly project a pair of low divergence visible lines onto anopposite driving lane that is adjacent to those light sources inresponse to driver activating the turn signal circuit to signal thedriver's intention to change lines in that direction.

FIG. 2 is another top view of the vehicles 100 and 150, but wherevehicle 100 is configured to project more complex lines and/or symbolsonto adjacent driving lanes. The vehicle 100 includes four light sources210 a-d that are located at exemplary corner regions of the vehicle 100.One or both of the light sources on a same side of the vehicle 100 canbe configured to project more complex low divergence visible lines, suchas the illustrated bracket-shaped lines 220 a-200 b, and/or to projectanother visible symbol, such the arrow symbol 230, onto the adjacentlane in response to a driver activating a turn signal circuit to warnanother driver of vehicle 150 of the driver's intention to change lanesin that direction.

For example, light source 210 a may be configured to project the lowdivergence bracket-shaped line 220 a onto the adjacent lane by passingthe light beam from the light source 210 a through corresponding shapedbracket shaped filter element(s). The light source 210 b may besimilarly configured to project the low divergence bracket-shaped line220 b onto the adjacent lane. The combination of light sources 210 a-band/or one or more other light sources may be configured to project thearrow symbol 230. The light sources 210 c and 210 d can similarlyproject the same or different low divergence lines and/or shapes asprojected by light sources 210 a-b onto another driving lane that isadjacent to those light sources in response to the driver activating theturn signal circuit to signal the driver's intention to change lines inthat direction.

FIG. 3 is another top view of the vehicles 100 and 150, where vehicle100 is configured to project another pattern of lines that may becontrolled to dynamically sweep along the adjacent driving lane. Thevehicle 100 includes four light sources 310 a-d that are located atdifferent exemplary corner regions of the vehicle 100. One or both ofthe light sources on a same side of the vehicle 100 can be configured toproject a plurality of spaced apart low divergence lines, such as theillustrated line patterns 320 a and 320 b, that extend at leastpartially across, and may extend entirely across, the adjacent lane inresponse to a driver activating a turn signal circuit to warn anotherdriver of vehicle 150 of the driver's intention to change lanes in thatdirection. All of the lines within each pattern 320 a and 320 b may beilluminated at the same time or they may be illuminated one at a time toprovide a sequence of lines that appear to repetitively angularly sweepforward (e.g., in the direction of travel of vehicle 150) and/orbackward (e.g., opposite to the direction of travel of vehicle 150)along the adjacent lane, such as illustrated by the bidirectionalarrow's 330 a and 330 b.

Accordingly, the projected line pattern in the adjacent lane mayrepetitively sweep forward and backwards. Alternatively or additionally,the light sources 310 a-d may be turned on and off to cause theprojected light pattern to flash. The rate of flashing may be higherthan the rate of flashing of other turn signal lighting on the vehicle100 to be further distinctive and grab the attention of other driversand/or to provide improved and desirable aesthetics. Moreover, the rateof flashing may be configured to change over time so as to besubstantially aperiodic, which may be further attention grabbing incontrast to the relatively slow periodic flashing that drivers areaccustomed to seeing on conventional turn signal lighting.

The other light sources 310 c and 310 d can be configured to projectsimilar patterns of lines 320 a and 320 b as projected by light sources310 a-b onto an opposite driving lane that is adjacent to those lightsources in response to driver activating the turn signal circuit tosignal the driver's intention to change lines in that direction.

FIG. 4 is another top view of the vehicles 100 and 150, but wherevehicle 100 is configured to project another pattern of lines that maybe controlled to dynamically sweep across the adjacent driving lane. Thevehicle 100 includes four light sources 410 a-d that are located atdifferent corner regions of the vehicle 100. In contrast to the lightsources 310 a-d of FIG. 3, the present light sources 410 a-d areconfigured to project a plurality of spaced apart low divergence lines,such as the illustrated line patterns 420 a and 420 b, that extend alongthe adjacent lane (in the direction of travel of the vehicle 100) inresponse to a driver activating a turn signal circuit to warn of thedriver's intention to change lanes in that direction. All of the lineswithin each pattern 420 a and 420 b may be illuminated at the same timeor they may be illuminated one at a time to provide a sequence of linesthat appear to tentatively sweep away from and/or toward the vehicle100, such as illustrated by the bidirectional arrow's extending throughthe patterns 420 a and 420 b.

Accordingly, the projected line pattern in the adjacent lane mayrepetitively sweep away from and/or toward the vehicle 100.Alternatively or additionally, the light sources 410 a-d may be turnedon and off to cause the projected light pattern to flash. The rate offlashing may be higher than the rate of flashing of other turn signallighting on the vehicle 100 to be further distinctive and grab theattention of other drivers and/or to provide improved and desirableaesthetics. Moreover, the rate of flashing may be configured to changeover time so as to be substantially aperiodic, which may be furtherattention grabbing in contrast to the relatively slow periodic flashingthat drivers are accustomed to seeing on conventional turn signallighting.

The other light sources 410 c and 410 d can be configured to projectsimilar patterns of lines 420 a and 420 b as projected by light sources410 a-b onto an opposite driving lane that is adjacent to those lightsources in response to driver activating the turn signal circuit tosignal the driver's intention to change lines in that direction.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are top views of another vehicle 500 that includes aplurality of light sources 510 that are spaced apart along oppositesides of the vehicle 500. Referring to FIG. 5, the exemplary vehicle 500may include 17 light sources 510 that are spaced apart along each sideof the vehicle, although any plural number of the light sources 510 maybe used. The light sources 510 may be at least partially disposed withina bottom portion of the vehicle body, such in a bottom portion of thefront and rear bumpers and below door openings that provide access to apassenger compartment of the vehicle 500. Alternatively or additionally,the light sources 510 may be at least partially disposed within runningboards that extend along and are connected to a lower portion (e.g.,underside frame) of the vehicle 500.

Referring to FIG. 6, each of the light sources 510 may be configured toproject a low divergence line that extends at least partially across theadjacent lane. Accordingly, the light sources 510 can collectivelyproject a plurality of low divergence lines that form a pattern 520 thatextend away from the vehicle 500. All of the light sources 510 on thesame side of vehicle may be simultaneously activated to project all ofthe lines within the pattern 520 in response to a driver activating theturn signal circuit to signal a driver's intention to change lanes inthat direction. Alternatively, the light sources 510 may be sequentiallyactivated to provide a sequence of lines that appear to repetitivelysweep forward (e.g., in the direction of travel of vehicle 500) and/orbackward (e.g., opposite to the direction of travel of vehicle 500)along the adjacent lane, such as illustrated by the bidirectional arrow522. More than one of the light sources 510 on the same side of thevehicle may be simultaneously activated to provide more than onesequence of lines that appear to sweep forward and/or backward in thepattern 520, such as by providing one sequence of lines that appear tosweep from the front to the back of the pattern 520 while simultaneouslyproviding another sequence of lines that appear to sweep from the backto the front of the pattern 520.

Accordingly, the projected line pattern in the adjacent lane mayrepetitively sweep in various defined directions. Alternatively oradditionally, the light sources 510 may be turned on and off to causethe projected light pattern to flash. The rate of flashing may be higherthan the rate of flashing of other turn signal lighting on the vehicle500 to be further distinctive and grab the attention of other driversand/or to provide improved and desirable aesthetics. Moreover, the rateof flashing may be configured to change over time so as to besubstantially aperiodic, which may be further attention grabbing incontrast to the relatively slow periodic flashing that drivers areaccustomed to seeing on conventional turn signal lighting.

The light sources 510 on the opposite side of vehicle 500 can beconfigured to project a similar pattern 520 of low divergence lines ontoa driving lane that is adjacent to those light sources in response todriver activating the turn signal circuit to signal the driver'sintention to change lines in that direction.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, in some other embodiments each ofthe light sources 510 may be configured to project a low divergence linethat extends along the adjacent lane (in the direction of travel of thevehicle 500). Accordingly, the light sources 510 can collectivelyproject a plurality of low divergence lines to form another pattern 540of lines that extends parallel to or at a defined angle from the vehicle500 and are spaced apart in a direction away from the vehicle 500.

All of the light sources 510 on the same side of vehicle may besimultaneously activated to project all of the lines within the pattern540 in response to a driver activating the turn signal circuit signal adriver's intention to change lanes in that direction. Alternatively, thelight sources 510 may be sequentially activated to provide a sequence oflines that appear to sweep away from and/or toward the vehicle 500(e.g., back and forth away and toward the vehicle 500), such asillustrated by the bidirectional arrow 542. More than one of the lightsources 510 on the same side of the vehicle may be simultaneouslyactivated to provide more than one sequence of lines that appear tosweep away and/or toward the vehicle 500, such as by providing onesequence of lines that appear to sweep away from the vehicle 500 whilesimultaneously providing another sequence of lines that appear to sweeptoward the vehicle 500. The light sources 510 on the opposite side ofvehicle 500 can be configured to project a similar pattern of lines 540onto an driving lane that is adjacent to those light sources in responseto driver activating the turn signal circuit to signal the driver'sintention to change lines in that direction.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are top views of another vehicle 700 that includes aplurality of light sources 710 that are spaced apart along oppositesides of the vehicle 700. Referring to FIG. 7, the exemplary vehicle 700may include seven light sources 710 that are spaced apart along an uppersurface of each side of the vehicle, although any plural number of thelight sources 710 may be used. The light sources 710 may be at leastpartially disposed within a roof rack on the vehicle 700 and angleddownward to collectively project a continuous or segmented lowdivergence line to project a plurality of low divergence lines onto theadjacent driving lane.

Referring to FIG. 8, each of the light sources 710 may be configured toproject a low divergence line that extends at least partially across theadjacent lane. Accordingly, the light sources 710 can collectivelyproject a plurality of lines that form a pattern 720 that extend awayfrom the vehicle 700. All of the light sources 710 on the same side ofvehicle may be simultaneously activated to project all of the lineswithin the pattern 720 in response to a driver activating the turnsignal circuit signal a driver's intention to change lanes in thatdirection. Alternatively, the light sources 710 may be sequentiallyactivated to provide a sequence of lines that appear to repetitivelysweep forward (e.g., in the direction of travel of vehicle 700) and/orbackward (e.g., opposite to the direction of travel of vehicle 700)along the adjacent lane, such as illustrated by the bidirectional arrow722.

More than one of the light sources 710 on the same side of the vehiclemay be simultaneously activated to provide more than one sequence oflines that appear to sweep forward and/or backward in the pattern 720 atthe same time, such as by providing one sequence of lines that appear tosweep from the front to the back of the pattern 720 while simultaneouslyproviding another sequence of lines that appear to sweep from the backto the front of the pattern 720. The light sources 710 on the oppositeside of vehicle 700 can be configured to project a similar pattern oflines 720 onto an driving lane that is adjacent to those light sourcesin response to driver activating the turn signal circuit to signal thedriver's intention to change lines in that direction.

Alternatively or additionally, the light sources 710 may be turned onand off to cause the projected light pattern to flash. The rate offlashing may be higher than the rate of flashing of other turn signallighting on the vehicle 700 to be further distinctive and grab theattention of other drivers and/or to provide improved and desirableaesthetics. Moreover, the rate of flashing may be configured to changeover time so as to be substantially aperiodic, which may be furtherattention grabbing in contrast to the relatively slow periodic flashingthat drivers are accustomed to seeing on conventional turn signallighting.

With continued reference to FIG. 8, in some other embodiments each ofthe light sources 710 may be configured to project a line that extendsalong the adjacent lane (in the direction of travel of the vehicle 700).Accordingly, the light sources 710 can collectively project a pluralityof lines to form another pattern 740 of lines that extends parallel toor at a defined angle from the vehicle 700 and are spaced apart in adirection away from the vehicle 700. All of the light sources 710 on thesame side of vehicle may be simultaneously activated to project all ofthe lines within the pattern 740 in response to a driver activating theturn signal circuit signal a driver's intention to change lanes in thatdirection. Alternatively, the light sources 710 may be sequentiallyactivated to provide a sequence of lines that appear to repetitivelysweep away from and/or toward the vehicle 700 (e.g., back and forth awayand toward the vehicle 700), such as illustrated by the bidirectionalarrow 742. More than one of the light sources 710 on the same side ofthe vehicle may be simultaneously activated to provide more than onesequence of lines that appear to sweep away and/or toward the vehicle700, such as by providing one sequence of lines that appear to sweepaway from the vehicle 700 while simultaneously providing anothersequence of lines that appear to sweep toward the vehicle 700. The lightsources 710 on the opposite side of vehicle 700 can be configured toproject a similar pattern of lines 740 onto an driving lane that isadjacent to those light sources in response to driver activating theturn signal circuit to signal the driver's intention to change lines inthat direction.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary vehicle turn signalingapparatus 900 that may be configured to project a plurality of lowdivergence visible lines onto an adjacent driving lane in accordancewith the embodiments of one or more of FIGS. 1-8. Referring to FIG. 9,the vehicle turn signaling apparatus 900 includes a first plurality oflight sources 910 and a second plurality of light sources 920 theirmounted on another support structure 922. Each of the light sources 910and 920 may include a coherent light laser device that is configured toproject a low divergence visible line (e.g., line 914) onto an adjacentdriving lane. In some other embodiments, some or all of the lightsources 910 920 may each include a light emitting diode device isconfigured to project a low divergence visible line onto an adjacentdriving lane.

To form the exemplary line patterns 320 a-b in FIG. 3 on an adjacentlane, the first plurality of light sources 910 may be spaced apart andconnected at different light beam output angles to a first supportstructure 912. Similarly, the second plurality of light sources 920 maybe spaced apart and connected at different light beam output angles to asecond support structure 922. The relative angle and spacing between thelight sources 910 on the first support structure 912 and between thelight sources 920 on the second support structure 922 are selected toprovide desired corresponding angle and length of the individual lowdivergence lines projected by each of the light sources 910 and 920 onthe adjacent roadway lane.

Alternatively or additionally, the light sources 910 and 920 may bespaced further apart along the same or opposite sides of the vehicle toproject lines that form all or a portion of the line pattern 520 of FIG.6 and/or pattern 720 of FIG. 8. The light sources 910 and 920 may bespaced apart in a vertical direction on their respective supportstructures 912 and 922 with varying light beam output anglestherebetween to project lines that form all or a portion of theexemplary line pattern 420 a-b of FIG. 4, pattern 540 of FIG. 6, and/orpattern 740 of FIG. 8.

A sequencer circuit 930 may be included that is configured tosequentially power on and then off individual ones of the light sources910 to project a sequence of lines that form all or a portion of thepattern 320 a-b of FIG. 3, pattern 420 a-b of FIG. 4, pattern 520 ofFIG. 6, pattern 540 of FIG. 6, pattern 720 of FIG. 8, and/or pattern 740of FIG. 8. Similarly, another sequencer circuit 940 may be included thatis configured to sequentially power on and then off individual ones ofthe light sources 920 to project a sequence of lines that form all or aportion of the pattern 320 a-b of FIG. 3, pattern 420 a-b of FIG. 4,pattern 520 of FIG. 6, pattern 540 of FIG. 6, pattern 720 of FIG. 8,and/or pattern 740 of FIG. 8. Another sequencer circuit 950 may controlthe sequencer circuits 930 and 940 to synchronize the sequential patterngenerated by the light sources 910 to the sequential pattern generatedby the light sources 920.

In some embodiments, the light sources 910 and 920 may be synchronouslycontrolled to project low divergence visible lines that appear toangularly sweep in opposite horizontal directions relative to each otheralong the respective portions of the adjacent driving lane (e.g.,individual ones of the light sources 910 are sequentially activated toangularly sweep in a forward direction while individual ones of thelight sources 920 are sequentially activated to angularly sweep in areverse direction or vice versa). Alternatively, the light sources 910and 920 may be synchronously controlled to project low divergencevisible lines that appear to angularly sweep in the same horizontaldirection along the respective portions of the adjacent driving lane(e.g., individual ones of the light sources 910 and light sources 920are sequentially activated to angularly sweep in a forward directionand/or to angularly sweep in a reverse direction).

Alternatively or additionally, the sequencer circuits may be configuredto flash on and off all of the light sources 910 and 920. The rate offlashing may be higher than the rate of flashing of other turn signallighting mounted on the vehicle to be further distinctive and grab theattention of other drivers and/or to provide improved and desirableaesthetics. Moreover, the rate of flashing may be configured to changeover time so as to be substantially aperiodic, which may be furtherattention grabbing in contrast to the relatively slow periodic flashingthat drivers are accustomed to seeing on conventional turn signallighting. In some embodiments, the flashing frequency of the lightsources may be controlled to change over time to further increase theattention grabbing and/or desirable aesthetics of the projected pattern.For example, the light sources may be flashed periodically at a firstfrequency for a first duration, then flashed periodically at a secondfrequency for a second duration, and so on according to one or moredefined frequency and duration timelines.

In some other embodiments, the light sources 910 and 920 may besynchronously controlled to project low divergence visible lines thatappear to repetitively sweep away and/or toward the vehicle in oppositedirections (e.g., individual ones of the light sources 910 aresequentially activated to sweep away from the vehicle while individualones of the light sources 920 are activated to sweep toward the vehicle,and/or vice versa). Alternatively, the light sources 910 and 920 may besynchronously controlled to project low divergence visible lines thatappear to angularly sweep away and/or toward the vehicle in the samedirection at the same time (e.g., individual ones of the light sources910 and light sources 920 are sequentially activated to angularly sweepaway from the vehicle and/or to angularly sweep toward the vehicle).

Although three sequencer circuits 930, 940, and 950 have beenillustrated in FIG. 9 for ease of explanation, the circuit is notlimited thereto because one or more of the sequencer circuits may becombined into a single circuit (e.g, a single circuit board/circuitpackage) or their functionality may be distributed in any number ofdiscrete circuits.

The sequencer circuits 930, 940, and/or 950 may be activated by a drivermoving a turn signal stick 960, which may be similar to a conventionalturn signal stick that is typically located on a left side of a steeringwheel column of an automobile and/or a switch mechanism that is locatedon a left handlebar of a motorcycle. The turn signal stick 960 may bemoved upward from a non-active position 960 a to a first upward position960 b to activate a turn signal light circuit 970 that flashes a firstset of conventional turn signal lights on a first side of vehicle. Insome embodiments, the turn signal stick 960 may be moved further upwardto a second upward position 960 c to activate a light projection circuit980 that causes one or more light sources on the first side of thevehicle to project low divergence visible line(s) on the adjacentdriving lane to visibly warn other drivers that the driver of thevehicle may be intending to change lanes in that direction, and whichmay be carried out while continuing to flash the first set ofconventional turn signal lights which were activated in the first upwardposition 960 b. For example, the light projection circuit 980 maytrigger the light sequencer circuits 930 and 950 to cause the lightsources 910, connected to the first side of the vehicle, to project lowdivergence lines therefrom onto the adjacent driving lane. The lightprojection circuit 980, the turn signal light circuit 970, and thesequencer circuits 930, 940, and 950 may be collectively referred to asa turn signal circuit in accordance with some embodiments.

Similarly, the turn signal stick 960 may be moved downward from thenon-active position 960 a to a first downward position 960 d to activatethe turn signal light circuit 970 to flash a second set of conventionalturn signal lights on a second side of vehicle. In some embodiments, theturn signal stick 960 may be moved further downward to a second downwardposition 960 e to trigger the light projection circuit 980 to cause oneor more light sources on the second side of the vehicle to project lowdivergence visible line(s) on the adjacent driving lane to visibly warnother drivers that the driver of the vehicle may be intending to changelanes in that direction, and which may be carried out while continuingto flash the first set of conventional turn signal lights which wereactivated in the first downward position 960 d. For example, the lightprojection circuit 980 may trigger the light sequencer circuits 940 and950 to cause the light sources 920, connected to the second side of thevehicle, to project low divergence lines therefrom onto the adjacentdriving lane.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of another exemplary vehicle turn signalingapparatus 1000 that may be configured to project a plurality of lowdivergence visible lines onto an adjacent driving lane in accordancewith the embodiments of one or more of FIGS. 1-8 and/or otherembodiments. The apparatus 1000 of FIG. 10 differs from the apparatus900 of FIG. 9 in the configuration of the light sources 910 and 920. InFIG. 10, the light sources 910 are spaced apart in a vertical directionon a support structure 1012 and the light sources 920 are spaced apartin a vertical direction on another support structure 1022. Spacing theindividual light sources 910 and 920 in the vertical direction maysimplify creation of the line patterns that are spaced apart across anadjacent lane, such as the exemplary patterns of 420 a-b of FIG. 4,pattern 540 of FIG. 6, and pattern 740 of FIG. 8. The elements of FIG.10 having the same numbering as elements in FIG. 9 may operate in thesame/similar manner as described above.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of another exemplary vehicle turn signalingapparatus 1100 that may be configured to project a plurality of lowdivergence visible lines onto an adjacent driving lane in accordancewith the embodiments of one or more of FIGS. 1-8 and/or otherembodiments. The apparatus 1100 of FIG. 11 includes a light source 1100that is configured to project a low divergence beam onto a mirror 1110that is angularly rotated (e.g., back and forth or spinning completerevolutions) by an actuator (e.g., motor) 1112. An actuator controlcircuit 1120 controls movement of the actuator 1112 to move the mirror1110 in a manner that reflects the low divergence beam from the lightsource 1100 onto an adjacent roadway lane to scan one or more lines thatform one or more of the lines/patterns described above with regard toFIGS. 1-8 and/or other patterns.

The mirror 1110 may be rotated horizontally, vertically, and/or acombination thereof to reflect the light beam from the light source 1100at different angles to generate the line patterns of FIGS. 1-8 and/orother patterns. The light projection activation circuit 980 may regulatepower to the light source 1100 responsive to movement of the turn signalstick 960 a as described above to project a continuously scanned lowdivergence visible line on the adjacent lane. The activation circuit 980may cycle the power on and off (e.g., regulate a power duty cycle) tothe light source 1100 to cause a plurality of discrete spaced apartlines to be scanned onto the adjacent lane. For example, the mirror 1110may be rotated back and forth horizontally while cycling power to lightsource 1100 on and off to generate the line patterns 320 a-b of FIG. 3.In contrast, the mirror 1110 may be rotated back and forth verticallywhile cycling power to light source 1100 on and off to generate the linepatterns 420 a-b of FIG. 4. Accordingly, various line patterns maythereby be generated using less light sources that what may be neededwhen the light sources are configured to each project a stationary lightbeam onto the adjacent lane.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of another exemplary vehicle turn signalingapparatus 1200 that may be configured to project a plurality of lowdivergence visible lines onto an adjacent driving lane in accordancewith the embodiments of one or more of FIGS. 1-8 and/or otherembodiments. The apparatus 1200 of FIG. 12 includes a light source 1200that is configured to project a low divergence beam onto an adjacentroadway lane. In contrast to the apparatus 1100 of FIG. 11, the lightsource 1200 is connected to be angularly rotated by an actuator (e.g.,motor) 1210. An actuator control circuit 1220 controls movement of theactuator 1210 to move the light source 1200 so as to scan the lowdivergence beam and form one or more of the lines/patterns describedabove with regard to FIGS. 1-8 and/or other patterns.

The light source 1200 may be rotated horizontally, vertically, and/or acombination thereof to project the light beam from the light source 1100at different angles to generate the line patterns of FIGS. 1-8 and/orother patterns. The light projection activation circuit 980 may regulatepower to the light source 1200 responsive to movement of the turn signalstick 960 a as described above to project a continuously scanned lowdivergence visible line on the adjacent lane. The activation circuit 980may cycle the power on and off (e.g., regulate a power duty cycle) tothe light source 1200 to cause a plurality of spaced apart discretelines to be scanned onto the adjacent lane. For example, the lightsource 1200 may be rotated back and forth horizontally while cycling itspower on and off to generate the line patterns 320 a-b of FIG. 3. Incontrast, the light source 1200 may be rotated back and forth verticallywhile its power is cycled on and off to generate the line patterns 420a-b of FIG. 4. Accordingly, various line patterns may be generated usingless light sources that what may be needed when the light sources areconfigured to each project a stationary light beam onto the adjacentlane.

As explained above, the lines in FIGS. 1-8 have been illustrated asbeing solid (continuous), however other embodiment of the invention arenot limited thereto. For example, one or more of the illustrated linesthat are projected on an adjacent lane may be segmented (dashed) bypassing the respective light beam through a filter having segmentedopenings across the illuminated area, by angularly scanning the lightbeam while cycling the power on and off to the light source, and/or byforming the projected line from a plurality of light sources thatproject non-overlapping line segments on the adjacent lane.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed embodimentsof the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the followingclaims.

1. A vehicle turn signaling apparatus comprising: a light source that ispowered by a turn signal circuit of the vehicle and is configured toproject a low divergence visible line onto a driving lane adjacent tothe vehicle in response to activation of the turn signal circuit tovisibly warn other drivers where a driver of the vehicle can intend tomove the vehicle.
 2. The vehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 1,further comprising at least two of the light sources, wherein one of thelight sources is mounted to a front portion of the vehicle andconfigured to project a low divergence visible line on at least a majorportion of the driving lane adjacent to the front of the vehicle inresponse to activation of the turn signal circuit, and wherein anotherone of the light sources is mounted to a rear portion of the vehicle andconfigured to project a low divergence visible line on at least a majorportion of the driving lane adjacent to the rear of the vehicle inresponse to activation of the turn signal circuit.
 3. The vehicle turnsignaling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises acoherent light laser device that is configured to project a lowdivergence visible line onto at least a major portion of the adjacentdriving lane.
 4. The vehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 1,wherein the light source comprises a light emitting diode device that isconfigured to project a low divergence visible line onto at least amajor portion of the adjacent driving lane.
 5. The vehicle turnsignaling apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a first plurality ofthe light sources that are spaced apart and connected at different lightbeam output angles to a first support structure on the vehicle, whereinthe light sources are configured to project low divergence visible linesonto the adjacent driving lane at different horizontal angles relativeto each other.
 6. The vehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 5,further comprising a sequencer circuit that is configured tosequentially supply power to individual ones of the first plurality oflight sources to project a first line pattern that appears to angularlysweep horizontally along a portion of the adjacent driving lane.
 7. Thevehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a secondplurality of the light sources that are spaced apart and connected atdifferent light beam output angles to a second support structure on thevehicle, wherein the sequencer circuit is further configured tosequentially supply power to individual ones of the second plurality oflight sources to project a second line pattern that appears to angularlysweep horizontally along a portion of the adjacent driving lane, andwherein the first and second support structures are connected to spacedapart locations on the vehicle so that the first plurality of the lightsources project the first line pattern along a portion of the drivinglane adjacent to a rear portion of the vehicle and so that the secondplurality of the light sources project the second line pattern along aportion of the driving lane adjacent to a front portion of the vehicle.8. The vehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 7, wherein thesequencer circuit is further configured to sequentially supply power toindividual ones of the first and second plurality of light sources toproject the first and second line patterns therefrom that appear toangularly sweep in opposite relative directions along the respectiveportions of the adjacent driving lane.
 9. The vehicle turn signalingapparatus of claim 7, wherein the sequencer circuit is furtherconfigured to sequentially supply power to individual ones of the firstand second plurality of light sources to project the first and secondline patterns therefrom that appear to angularly sweep in a samerelative direction along the respective portions of the adjacent drivinglane.
 10. The vehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: a first plurality of the light sources that are spaced apartand connected at different light beam output angles to a first supportstructure, wherein the first plurality of light sources are configuredto project low divergence visible lines onto the adjacent driving lane,the lines extending substantially in a same direction relative to eachother.
 11. The vehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 10, furthercomprising a sequencer circuit that is configured to sequentially supplypower to individual ones of the first plurality of light sources toproject a first line pattern that appears to sweep across a portion ofthe adjacent driving lane away from and/or toward the vehicle.
 12. Thevehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 11, further comprising asecond plurality of the light sources that are spaced apart andconnected at different light beam output angles to a second supportstructure, wherein the sequencer circuit is further configured tosequentially supply power to individual ones of the second plurality oflight sources to project a second line pattern that appears to sweepacross another portion of the adjacent driving lane away from and/ortoward the vehicle, and wherein the first and second support structuresare attached to spaced apart locations on the vehicle so that the firstline pattern is projected onto a portion of the adjacent driving lanethat is adjacent to a rear portion of the vehicle and so that the secondplurality of the light sources project the second line pattern onto aportion of the adjacent driving lane that is adjacent to a front portionof the vehicle.
 13. The vehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 1,further comprising a plurality of the light sources connected to spacedapart locations along both sides of the vehicle, wherein each of thelight sources is configured to project a low divergence visible line ina direction away from the vehicle onto an adjacent driving lane to thevehicle in response to activation of the turn signal circuit.
 14. Thevehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 13, wherein the light sourcesare at least partially disposed within the vehicle body below dooropenings that provide access to a passenger compartment.
 15. The vehicleturn signaling apparatus of claim 13, wherein the light sources are atleast partially disposed within running boards connected to the vehiclebelow door openings.
 16. The vehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim13, wherein the light sources are at least partially disposed within aroof rack on the vehicle and are angled downward to project the lowdivergence visible lines onto the adjacent driving lane.
 17. The vehicleturn signaling apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a sequencercircuit that is configured to sequentially supply power to individualones of the first plurality of light sources to project lines thatappear to sweep along and/or across a portion of the driving laneadjacent to the respective light sources.
 18. The vehicle turn signalingapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a turn signal stick thatextends from a steering wheel column of the vehicle, wherein movement ofthe turn signal stick from an idle position to a first positionactivates turn signal lights to flash light from a corresponding side ofthe vehicle, and movement of the turn signal stick from the firstposition to a second position activates the light source to project thelow divergence visible line onto the driving lane that is adjacent tothe corresponding side of the vehicle.
 19. The vehicle turn signalingapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a mirror that is connected to arotary actuator, wherein the light source is configured to project alight beam toward the mirror, and the mirror is angularly rotated by theactuator to scan the light beam from the light source along a path onthe adjacent lane.
 20. The vehicle turn signaling apparatus of claim 1,further comprising a rotary actuator, wherein the light source isconnected to the rotary actuator to scan the light beam from the lightsource along a path on the adjacent lane.